U.S. court upholds L.A. ban on billboards
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling
A federal appellate court issued a ruling today upholding Los Angeles' citywide billboard ban, handing a rare victory to the city in its uphill battle to regulate outdoor signs.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the city's 2002 outdoor advertising ban does not violate a sign company's 1st Amendment right to free speech, reversing a lower court ruling. Outdoor advertising company Metro Lights LLC had argued that the city could not prohibit new "off-site" signs -- images that advertise products not sold on the immediate property -- while at the same time selling advertising space on city-owned bus benches and kiosks. Metro Lights had accused the city of auctioning off "1st Amendment rights to the highest bidder."
"This is strong, if rather sloganeering, language, but after reviewing the case law on which Metro Lights relies, we believe it to be little more than a canard," the court wrote.
Paul E. Fisher, the Newport Beach attorney who represents Metro Lights, said his client had not decided whether to appeal the decision. The opinion, if upheld, could affect municipal sign laws across the nation, Fisher said.
"It's certainly a significant ruling, and it is a blow to the outdoor advertising industry," he added.
Lawyers with City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said cities across the country -- including some facing lawsuits challenging their own sign laws -- had been waiting to see what the 9th Circuit Court would do. In addition, at least five other lawsuits in Los Angeles have referenced the Metro Lights case, said Deputy City Atty. Kenneth Fong.
The ruling comes as the city's elected officials struggle to limit the size, location and brightness of new signs. Since the ban was approved seven years ago, Delgadillo has had to respond to more than a dozen lawsuits, including one that led to a legal settlement allowing 840 billboards across the city to be converted to digital signs.
Faced with an outcry from neighborhood groups that called the city's action ineffective, the council approved a temporary 90-day sign ban while the city's lawyers attempt to make its billboard law capable of withstanding a legal challenge. Although the moratorium took effect Dec. 26, some unpermitted signs have continued going up, according to the city's lawyers.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose Westside district takes in coastal neighborhoods, applauded today's ruling, saying it would give the city credibility in its battle against billboards.
